Local hairstylist a finalist in national competition

Wednesday

Dec 30, 2009 at 11:39 AM

HOUMA — Today she is styling hair at a salon on West Park Avenue, but in February she could be doing the same thing behind the scenes during Fashion Week in New York City.

HOUMA — Today she is styling hair at a salon on West Park Avenue, but in February she could be doing the same thing behind the scenes during Fashion Week in New York City.Bree D'Errico, a stylist at the AHA! massage clinic, is one of eight finalists in the What's Next Awards.The online hair-styling competition is hosted by the salon-products company Sebastian Professional. The winner will get a free trip to New York to work at Fashion Week and an interview in Blackbook, a fashion magazine.D'Errico, 30, said she was shocked when she learned she was selected a finalist.“Wow — little old me from Houma?” she said. “Against an entire country of stylists.”Hair stylists across the nation submitted photos of their work. People can vote for their favorite stylists by visiting the contest's Web site at WhatsNextAwards.com.D'Errico's submission has the best online ranking — the most “fearless” — among the eight finalists.She submitted a pair of photos featuring Andi Miller, a 20-year-old nursing student at Nicholls who works part-time with D'Errico. The stylist said that hairdo was created as part of AHA!'s grand opening in July.In D'Errico's contest submission, Miller's naturally curly hair is set in waves on the top, with a cascade of curls down her right side. A burst of straight hair among the curls evokes a flower blooming amid vines.“I wanted something multi-textured and classic that was still kind of edgy and trendy,” D'Errico said.One of her customers said she keeps coming back for exactly that: D'Errico's willingness to experiment.“She's not scared to try different things,” said Dawlin Lajaunie. “I know I'm going to walk out looking good.”For D'Errico, styling hair has been a pastime since her childhood in California.“I've been doing hair in my kitchen since I was about 15,” she said. “I've always loved to play with hair, make things pretty, make people happy.”During her teens she moved to south Louisiana, where she finished high school at Ellender Memorial High.About five years ago she received her license and began working at a salon in the mall. Later she moved on to Bellissima, a salon and spa on Mystic Boulevard, and from there to AHA!.D'Errico said she is a bit intimidated by the prospect of working at Fashion Week, but would be ecstatic to win the contest. However, she added that her favorite part of hair styling is the satisfaction she gets to see on her clients' faces every day.“Seeing that 99 percent of the time I make people smile ... I can't think of anything more rewarding,” she said.

Staff Writer Daniel McBride can be reached at 850-1148 or daniel.mcbride@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @BayouSchools.

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